Bundeswehr Command and Staff College Trains Ukrainians

‘The EU supports Ukraine not only by providing weapons, equipment and materiel, but also by offering training – for example here at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College,’ says Rear Admiral Ralf Kuchler, commandant of Germany’s highest military training facility.

At the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College (BwCSC), twenty members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces familiarised themselves with western planning process for land operations at the highest tactical level, focusing on topics such as organisation, staff work, and the issuance of orders.

 ‘Germany offered to provide this training, and the fact that Ukraine has taken us up on our offer certainly shows its appreciation of the high-quality training we deliver. To us, this recognition is both an encouragement and a responsibility because only high-quality training ensures survival on the front lines,’ said Rear Admiral Ralf Kuchler. 

Completing a two-year training such as the National General/Admiral Staff Officer Course, which is attended by officers from Germany and other EU countries during times of peace, ‘is obviously impossible during war’. 

The participants quickly became acquainted with the structure of western security and defence forces and compared them to the Ukrainian structure with the aim of identifying and overcoming weaknesses. ‘We have been transforming our staff structure by putting together different people in new staffs. They usually have combat experience, but very little experience of working in a staff, if any,’ said the head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces delegation, Lieutenant Colonel Vladyslav. Against this backdrop, the trainees gained a lot of new and useful information from the training.

Another participant of the training in Hamburg, which falls under the umbrella of the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM UA), was Lieutenant Volodymyr. He pointed out that it was important to ‘speak the same language’ with EU member states and to understand the mindset behind the processes. This knowledge enabled the Ukrainian trainees to better assess the number of soldiers, ammunition and materiel needed on the battlefield. 

EUMAM UA

The EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and to deter and respond to possible future military offensives by Russia and other potential aggressors. EUMAM works closely together with all other like-minded international partners to provide training support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. EUMAM is open to the participation of third states. All mission activities are located on EU soil. So far, 24 EU Member States have offered training modules and personnel. The training is supported by the provision of equipment for lethal and non-lethal purposes to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This equipment is provided by Member States and funded by the European Peace Facility.